Cong, NCP spar over irrigation funds

The Congress and NCP ministers are at loggerheads over the issue of diversion of funds to irrigation projects in Krishna valley.

While most NCP ministers are from Western Maharashtra, Congress ministers come from Vidarbha and Marthwada. The projects in Krishna valley are in western Maharashtra.

The fresh bout between the NCP and the Congress is over implementation of the governor's directives on distribution of funds meant for irrigation projects. While Congress ministers are insisting on implementation of the directives, NCP ministers want implementation of directives only after 2010.

Between 2002 and 2004 under the pretext of drought, nearly Rs 2,500 crore meant for irrigation projects in the backward regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada was diverted to irrigation projects in western Maharashtra.

After much hue and cry by elected representatives from these regions, governor SM Krishna issued orders to recover these funds from the allocation made for irrigation projects in western Maharashtra in three financial years beginning from 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10.

Maharashtra has constituted statutory development boards for the development of backward regions like Vidarbha and Marathwada and the governor is the ex-officio chairman of these boards. Article 371 of the constitution empowers the governor to direct the state government to allocate funds to various regions in the state.

However, for two years the NCP ministers managed to postpone the recovery of funds.

In the Cabinet meeting held last month on January 31, a proposal by the irrigation ministry came up for discussion, which requested the Cabinet to appeal to the governor to postpone the recovery of funds beyond the financial year 2009-10.

The pretext being that the state needs to complete all the projects in Krishna valley before the review commission announces its award next year, said a senior Congress minister from Vidarbha.

"But we strongly objected to this proposal as it would have proved politically fatal for the Congress in these regions. Besides, if some other government comes to power in the state in October 2009 and decides to postpone the recovery of funds, Vidarbha and Marathwada would lose the funds permanently," he pointed out.